C-stores concerned about ‘dramatic’ changes in SNAP rule

With help from Jason Huffman, Catherine Boudreau, Doug Palmer and Jenny Hopkinson

C-STORES CONCERNED ABOUT ‘DRASTIC’ CHANGES IN SNAP RULE: The National Association of Convenience & Fuel Retailing is not exactly pleased about a proposed rule released Tuesday by the USDA that would greatly increase the variety of healthy and perishable foods retailers have to stock to be able to accept food stamps. The long-awaited rule, which stems from a 2014 farm bill provision, would require retailers who participate in the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program to stock at least seven varieties of products in four staple food categories, including meat, poultry or fish, bread or cereals, fruits or vegetables, and dairy products, up from three varieties currently.

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NACS, which represents retailers like Sheetz, Kwik Trip and Wawa, is still analyzing the proposal, but outlined its initial concerns in an update to members today. USDA went “significantly beyond” the statutory language and the rule would “drastically” alter retailer eligibility, the association says. One key problem NACS has with the proposal is that it would make it so multi-ingredient items, like frozen pizza, macaroni & cheese and TV dinners wouldn’t count as staple foods. “This is a dramatic change from current rules, which permit multiple ingredient items to be counted in one staple food category depending on the main ingredient,” NACS says, noting that macaroni & cheese, for example, today could be counted in the bread and cereals category.

“As currently drafted, the proposal will make it increasingly difficult for convenience store owners and operators to participate in the SNAP program, which in turn will negatively impact the many SNAP recipients that use their benefits at NACS members’ stores,” the group says. It’s certainly a debate to watch. The proposed rule is here. Last week, Healthy Eating Research, a Robert Wood Johnson Foundation program, issued its own recommendations on stocking and those can be found here.

SCALIA’S LOSS TO BE FELT ON SCOTUS WETLANDS RULINGS: The Supreme Court lost one of its most forceful critics of federal wetlands regulations with Justice Antonin Scalia's death, a loss that could shift the balance on how the court approaches some of the most significant water rules of President Barack Obama's tenure, writes Pro Energy’s Annie Snider. Scalia heavily influenced a more critical approach to wetlands rules among his fellow justices, once famously comparing the government to "an enlightened despot" in its implementation of regulations that sought to protect rivers and streams by regulating what individuals and businesses could do on soggy patches of land miles away.

"It was Justice Scalia, I think, who woke up that part of the court," Harvard Law Professor Richard Lazarus said. "He brought a very deep skepticism which became infectious for many of the justices on the court." Pros can read the rest of Snider’s story here.

WESTERN GROWERS URGE SENATE ACTION ON DROUGHT BILL: The powerhouse Western Growers Association is urging key Democrats to get behind Sen. Dianne Feinstein's new California drought measure so it can be brought to negotiations with the state's House Republicans, Pro Energy’s Annie Snider reports. "We are encouraged by Sen. Feinstein's introduction of a revised drought bill, but to have any chance of success, it must have the support of Sen. [Barbara] Boxer and the [Barack] Obama and [Calif. Gov. Jerry] Brown administrations, as well as the environmental organizations that have pulled those parties away from reasonable compromise water legislation in the past," Tom Nassif, the group's president, says in a statement issued late Tuesday.

Since drought negotiations blew up in December, California's Republican House members, led by Majority Leader Kevin McCarthy, have stepped back from the negotiating table, putting pressure on Feinstein to first pass a bill in her chamber. But Sen. Lisa Murkowski, whose Energy and Natural Resources Committee would review any such measure, has been loathe to insert herself in the middle of the debate — instead urging the California delegation to reach consensus among itself. California House members are waging a campaign to keep the drought from being forgotten amid the winter's El Nino rains. Their latest move: a hearing next week in the Golden State-heavy House Natural Resources Water, Power and Oceans Subcommittee on California's water supply outlook.

CUBA TO U.S.: LET US SEND YOU RUM AND CIGARS: On Tuesday Rodrigo Malmierca became the first Cuban trade minister to speak at the U.S. Chamber of Commerce in at least five decades, because of the freeze in bilateral relations. He called for an end to the 55-year-old U.S. economic embargo and urged President Barack Obama to allow American companies to import Cuban rum and cigars as another step toward that goal, reports Pro Trade’s Doug Palmer.

“We believe there are real opportunities to achieve concrete results in the coming months,” Rodrigo Malmierca said in a speech to the business group. “So, my invitation, my suggestion, is to continue working together to try to eliminate the main obstacle to all this. That is the blockade.” Read the rest of Palmer’s article here.

AG PAC PUSHES POLICY PRINCIPLES: Ag America, a super PAC that includes the Republican Agriculture Commissioners Committee, issued a statement Tuesday that calls on 2016 presidential candidates “to commit to publicly support the ‘principles for our ag future.’” The group, which bills itself as a “coalition of agriculture leaders,” seeks support for: access to markets through trade agreements; efforts to combat the spread of “unsound science” used to block U.S. agricultural products; required cost benefit analyses for regulation and “common sense” conservation policies; and youth interest in agriculture and job growth in the sector. The super PAC, which was established in August 2014, has yet to give to any federal candidates in this election cycle, according to Federal Election Commission filings. Details on Ag America here. The statement can be found here on Facebook.

SCIENTISTS PUSH FOR MORE RESEARCH ON GLYPHOSATE RISK: A dozen scientists say more research needs to look into the potential risks to the human endocrine system from the herbicide glyphosate. In a letter published late Tuesday in the journal Environmental Health, the scientists, which include Michael Hanson of Consumers Union and pro-organic researcher Charles Benbrook, argue that the government is not adequately assessing the effects of the heavy use of the herbicide due to biotech crops. The EPA should screen glyphosate as part of its National Toxicology Program to look for sublethal effects currently not being accounted for, the group suggests. In short, the scientists argue, “A thorough and modern assessment of [glyphosate] toxicity will encompass potential endocrine disruption, impacts on the gut microbiome, carcinogenicity, and multigenerational effects looking at reproductive capability and frequency of birth defects. The letter is here.

SORGHUM GROWERS EXCITED ABOUT EPA OK OF HERBICIDE: EPA has approved the registration of nicosulfuron, the active ingredient in DuPont’s Zest herbicide, moving grain sorghum growers a step closer to having an over-the-top grass control product. EPA has yet to publish a formal notification of its approval. The product, the only herbicide technology focused solely on sorghum, is the result of a 10-year partnership between Kansas State University and DuPont Crop Protection with support from the Kansas Grain Sorghum Commission, the Sorghum Checkoff and National Sorghum Producers. It will complement DuPont’s non-GMO Inzen herbicide-tolerance sorghum trait, according to the National Sorghum Producers, which first reported the news late last week. Tim Lust, CEO of the National Sorghum Producers, predicts limited quantities of the new technology will be in the field for trials this year. Read more from NSP about the development here. Listen to an interview with Justin Weinheimer, the Sorghum Checkoff’s crop improvement director, by Brownfield Ag News here.

KUDLOW WON’T CHALLENGE BLUMENTHAL: Sen. Richard Blumenthal (D-Conn.), known as an outspoken advocate for tougher standards on everything from food marketing to caffeine, won’t face the Republican challenger thought to have the best shot of unseating him in November. CNBC pundit Larry Kudlow announced Tuesday that he will not run for office, Campaign Pro reported. The former Reagan administration official had generated some excitement among conservatives and would have been able to self-fund his campaign, tapping a network of Wall Street executives for donations, but his years of talking-head work would also have been a rich source of opposition research.

Blumenthal is thus far unopposed in Connecticut’s primary. His likely Republican opponent is now August Wolf, a former Olympic shot-putter and Wall Street executive. Wolf had just over $100,000 cash on hand as of the end of September, and his fourth quarter FEC report isn't yet available online. Blumenthal has over $3.8 million in his campaign account.

NFI: STUDY LINKING FISH CONSUMPTION TO CHILD OBESITY INCOMPLETE: A study published in the medical journal JAMA Pediatrics that associates higher fish consumption during pregnancy with increased risk of child obesity should be put in perspective, the National Fisheries Institute asserts. “The nutrition community understands that the causes of obesity at any age are multi-factorial and cannot be explained by one single food,” says Rima Kleiner, the seafood industry group’s registered dietician.

The study found that women who ate fish at least three times a week during pregnancy were more likely to have children who were overweight or obese at six years old, compared to women who ate fish less than three times a week. Follow up surveys were conducted with more than 26,000 pregnant women and their children in 10 European countries and the U.S. every two years until they were six. See the study here. Read the NFI statement here.

MA’S INSTANT OATS:

— A new caterpillar control technology has corn producers weighing the benefits of paying more for multiple toxin Bt corn seed, AgriLife reports.

— Organic milk and meats can contain significantly more nutrients and omega 3 fatty acids than their conventional counterparts, a new study has found. The New York Times takes a look.

— A new Nebraska law brings an end to one of the last state bans on meatpacking companies owning hogs, the Wall Street Journal reports.

Authors:

About The Author

Helena Bottemiller Evich is a senior food and agriculture reporter for POLITICO Pro.

Before joining POLITICO, Helena spent four years reporting on food politics and policy at Food Safety News, where she covered Congress, the Food and Drug Administration and the U.S. Department of Agriculture.

Helena's work has also appeared in the Columbia Journalism Review and on NBC News. Her reporting has taken her to the Louisiana coast during the Gulf oil spill, Arizona lettuce fields, North Carolina hog farms and the occasional presidential turkey pardoning.

A native of Washington state and an alumna of Claremont McKenna College, she now lives in Washington, D.C., with her husband.